Birthday Party Day for Annika

We don't do a lot of birthday parties. We have done a few through the years. Last year we did a big one for Eliana, but let the other children invite friends too. It has long been one of Annika's wishes to have a real birthday party.

So we just up and plan it and pulled it off. We kept it small, but we tie-dyed shirts and had cupcake and I think it was a smashing success judging by the pictures!

It was one of those good, old-fashioned invite a few friends over for cake and ice cream parties and it reminded me how much fun a few little girls can have together for an afternoon. We played a few games and had a treasure hunt, but mostly they jumped on the trampoline and played outside. It happened that we planned it for one of the few nice days weather-wise recently, so we were very thankful for that!

I believe my sweet girl is turning 11 in style. It is her birth-week and there are more fun things to come.

Family Day in DC April 2018

On Sunday we loaded up the crew bright and early and headed out to drive to Washington, DC. We wanted to get to the National Cathedral in time for their 11:15 service. (Douglas had to stay behind this time due to a busy schedule. I know it is inevitable, but this mama isn't ready to have a child miss out on a family day!)

There is something about a beautiful, grandiose building that stills the heart and reminds one how small and insignificant we are and how glorious God is. I do believe that you do not need impressive buildings to worship in, but sometimes having a visual reminder of God's glory can make for a meaningful worship service.

They had a special service in memory of Martin Luther King Jr's final sermon there 50 years ago on March 31st, just a few days before his assassination. We sat and listened to a recording of that final sermon from 50 years ago and many challenges rang just as true today as they did then.

After the service we headed to the National Zoo. Our main goal was to see pandas. We were wildly successful. They have beautiful displays indoors where you can just watch the pandas right there. It was so fun! We also saw elephants and lions and lots of other fun animals. I had so much fun watching the girls rush from animal to animal, Casper snapping pictures, and Freeland pointing out unique things about the animals.

Our next stop was the tidal basin to see cherry blossoms. After some intense walking along the road with a wheelchair experiences we were happy that the blossoms were truly at their peak and gorgeous!

Part of what made the day successful was that we took my wheelchair this time. Keith and Freeland wheeled me all over the zoo, along busy streets, and to the Jefferson Memorial. I could never have walked the miles we covered that day! But I am not used to being pushed in a wheelchair either. There is this trust factor that enters in and it can be a little scary. At one point Freeland and Casper decided to race. Freeland was pushing the wheelchair. Let's just say I haven't moved that fast in quite a while!

The girls got a little turn in the wheelchair. Keith horrified them by taking it down step backwards. Poor girls! :)

It was such a good day the whole way around.

Bonus Snow Day!

When you have a snow day after the official first day of spring, it feels like a bonus. And when it is a big enough snow storm to actually close school for not only the four younger kids, but also for Douglas, there is great rejoicing in the Martin household. Add in Chick-Fil-A closing for the day and Douglas having the day off and it feels like a true holiday.

I laughed watching the dog running after Freeland, the snow is deep enough that running is pretty difficult, but they had so much fun!

Eliana was just free-falling into the snow. You can do that when there is a foot of snow to cushion your fall.

We are thinking that we can probably count on at least a delay for school tomorrow. We are hoping anyway, not bad for a spring snow storm...